Key assembly



ug., 319 1948. w. H. sT. THOMAS KEY ASSEMBLY Filed March 25. 1946 N VEN TOR. /L"H5t. 771oma5 Attorney Patented Aug. .31, 1948 UNITEDV STATES PATENT OFFICE- KEYzASSEMBLY William H; St; Thomas, Gloversvtlle; N; Y., assignori to-E! J: Wilkins Companm'Gloversville; -N.= Y., incorporationl of NewYork ApplicatiomMareh 25, 1946; SeriallNlL 657.0505v This invention pertains to key cases and has more particularlyreference to key cases having a holdervmounted therein for detachably ret-aining.a.p1urality of keys or other similar articles.

One object ofthe presenti invention is to providev a key case having.. a key holder mounted therein .formed from asingle metalplate havinga plurality of I spaced spring fingers formed` on. its upper endk andi bent.' forwardly, downwardly and inwardly to formaslotted barrel in which a plu.- ralityofkey hangers may be detachably mounted.

Another object of theinvention, is the provisionin akey holder ofthe foregoing type of a camming means on the face of. theholder4 co-- operating.V with. the. spring ilngersto retain the key hangers inthe. slots .ofthe barrel.

Another 'objectof `the -inventicn is. the .provision infa key holderof. theforegoing type -of fmeans .to facilitate the entranceofthe key hanger intothe slots and to prevent their accidental removal therefrom.

A- further object ofthe invention is` the pro.- vision in a key Vholder of theforegoing type cfa pluralityl ofy ridges formed thereonV to streng-then andY add rigidity tofthe holder.

A still.- further object of the. lnventionis, the provision of :a key holder ofthe foregoing. type in whichthekey hangers are freetoswivel-and oscillate in;V the slots in the. barrel.

Other.y objects. and advantages ofthe inven-l tion will appear in the specification, whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings. wherein:

Fig; lis affrontview'- of a portion .of-an open-key case showing :the-key holder attached thereto;

Fig. .291s a sectional vview taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is anielevationaliviewba key hanger; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a developed'blank for the base plate.

Referring toV the drawings, there is shown a key casefof the usual envelope type, preferably; made of leather, and comprisinga backpanel` I andftwo side iiaps Il and I2.foldable alonglines I3 and I4 to close the envelope.

A key holder I5 is fastened to the inside of the back panel, as by rivets I6. The key holder comprises a substantially flat base plate I'I provided with a slotted barrel I8 at its upper edge and having one or more key hangers I9 detachably mounted in each of the slots.

The key holder is preferably made of thin sheet steel or other spring material and is first lformed into a blank, as shown in Fig. 4, and,

thereafter, theA blank" is brought into' thel shape shown in Figal and 2 by'die` pressingor other suitable forming operations. The blank,y as shown in Fig. 4comprlses a. substantially rectangularshapedV piece of flat vsheet lsteel rhaving a plurality of parallel inwardly'extendin'g vertical slots 'informed in its upper edge; dividing the upper portion into aiplurality ofv spaced parallel spring lingers 2l;

Each of the fingers 2I has an integral ius or tangl 22formed'on its free'end'and has .its` edge rounded,-k as shown at 23, for -apurpose herein,- after to be described; A series of openings Z4 areformed in the blank, one openingbeinglo'- catedY below the root. of each oithenngers and in vertical alignment with the tang ormedon thefree end of 'the finger.

Three. or more openings 25' are provided. in the lower portion ofthe blankior the reception of the rivets IE which .fasten thekey holder to the key case. The4 blankis. bent intothe shape shown in Figs. 1Vand,.2 by die pressing` brother suitable forming, methods. In 'this'.l process. a transversely extending4 pair of parallel convex rdges26 and.'21.with aconcave. groove ZBtherebetween are formed on thefaceof -theblankat a point below the root ofthe, finger with therow of. openings. being` locatedin the groove 28. This corrugation, strengthens and adds rigidity to this portion ofthe blank and theupper. ridge 2B. lower` ridge 21 andgroovelperform other functions hereinafter to be. explained.

The barrel I8. is formed-at theupnervend of the base .plate by bendingthe fingers 2| Ironia point at or near,v the roots in .aforwardlyJ downwardly and inwardly direction to a point ZBI'which isspaced fromand alignedlwith the crest of the upper ridge, then they extenddownwardly and outwardly to a point.v spaced "from and aligned Withthe openings 24; At. this point, the tanga formed on the fingers are bent rearwardly/'to extendthrough the openings 24 andthenroject-4 ing ends` 30 of the tangs are bent backupon the rear of `the blank, `as clearly shown inrFig. 2.-4

In Fig. 3there'is shown a key. hanger I5, in the form of Va snap hook having a shank Biliand an enlarged head 32. The head is preferably made in the shape of an inverted truncated cone and has a at top and bottom. The diameter of the head, or its lateral dimension. is somewhat greater than the width of the slots 20 between adjacent fingers so that the hanger, when threaded into a slot, will be held therein by the head. The thickness of the head, or its longitudinal dimension, is greater than the normal provided for attaching to it a key or other similar" article.

When the blank has been formed intoI the shape shown in Figs. 1 and 2,th'e adjacent rounded corners 23 of the ngers form a flared entrance into the slots 20, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

To insert a hanger into one ofthe slots in the i slotted barrel, the hanger is held so that theshank is approximately perpendicular to the base plate, the head is inserted in the flared entrance to the slot and forced in a wedging or camming action through the open space between the4 crestv of the upperridge and the fingers,A the head of the hanger camming thefingers forwardly, due Ato their resiliency, to permit the head` to pass under the fingers and into the barrel. The operation is reversed to remove a hanger from the barrel. The groove facilitates theinsertion of the head into the iiared entrance'to the slot and the lower ridge tends to retain the'hanger in the flared entrance to the slot if ever a hanger` accidentally becomes disengaged from within the barrel. I

From the foregoing'description, it will be seen that there has been provided an improved key holder and key case whereinkeyhangers may readily be removed and inserted at the vfront of the holder and wherein other advantages of the invention have been fully' realized.

Obviously,v the present invention is not. restricted to the particular embodiment vthereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all of the featuresof the linvention be used conjointly, since they maybe employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combinations.

What is claimed is: Y

1. A key holder comprising a base plate having at least twoy spaced parallel spring fingersy extending fromV its top edge, each of said fingers being curved from a point near its root in a forward, downward and backward direction to a point spaced from the front faceof said plate,

then extending downwardly and forwardly toja point below said first named point; ya key hanger including a shank having an enlarged head,'the lateral dimension ofthe head being greater than the space betweenradjacent spring fingers and the longitudinal dimension `of the head being greater than the normal spacing of said fingers from said plate whereby rsaid key hanger when positioned normal to said plate may readily" be inserted and removed from the space insideI the curve of the fingers, the fingers being'of suiilcient resiliency to permit their being flexed for- 4 wardly to permit the passage of the head of the key hanger between the surface of the plate and the overlying edges of the adjacent fingers; and

means connecting the ends of the spring fingers limiting the outward flexing of the spring lingers A Vincludes a tang extending from the free end of i each finger through the opening in the plate below its root and having its projecting end bent upwardly into position to engage the back surfaceof theplate.

3. A key holder as set forth in claim 1, wherein `a plurality of transverse ridges are formed in the,-plate adjacent to the lower edges of the spring fingers to provide rigidity to the plate to prevent bending with resulting enlargement of the space between adjacent spring fingers thereby permitting accidental displacement of the key hanger. 4.` A key holder comprising a base plate having a pair of transverse convex ridges with a concave groove therebetween formed on its face and being provided with a transverse row of spaced openings located in said groove, the portion of the plate above said ridges being slottedto form a pluralityof spaced parallel spring fingers, each of said fingers having an integral tang extending therefrom, said fingers being curved fromv a point near their roots in a forward, downward and backward direction to a point spaced from the upper of said ridges, thence extending down-r wardly and forwardly to a point spaced from said row of openings, each of said tangs beingbent rearwardly to extend through one of said-'openings and having its projecting end bent upwardly into a position to engage the back of saidplate'; and a plurality of key hangers having enlarged heads swivelly and osciliatabiy mounted in said slots, the lateral dimension of the heads being greater than the width of the slots and the longitudinal dimension of the heads being greater than the normal spacing of the fingers from the upper ridge, the construction being such that the heads will normally be retained within the curve of the fingers but may readily be removed therefrom and re-inserted therein by forcing'the heads between the upper ridge and the overlying edges of the adjacent fingers, the resiliency ofl the ngers permitting them to be flexed outwardly to permit passage'of the heads with the tangs limiting theoutward flexing of the fingers i WILLIAM H. ST. THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS' 

